The American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday reported a crude oil build-up of 2,562 million barrels for the week ending Jan. 15.
Analysts had forecast a stock draw of 1,167 million barrels for the week.
Last week, the API reported a decline in oil inventories of 5.821 million barrels, after analysts predicted a decline of 2.266 million barrels.
Oil prices were mixed on Wednesday prior to the release of the data, with WTI up and Brent down. A widespread lockdown in China that has segregated millions of residents over concerns about an increase in coronavirus cases there, the IEA’s stark look at oil demand, a slow global rollout of the coronavirus vaccine plagued by technical issues, as well as Reports of negative effects and a sustained US stimulus are high, as investors dream of more economic activity and are encouraged to put money into riskier endeavors – such as oil – all added to a muddy water effect for the commodity.
An hour before the release of Wednesday’s data, WTI was up $ 0.30 (+ 0.57%) on the same day to $ 53.28, a modest $ 0.015 more than last week.
On the other hand, the Brent crude oil benchmark at the time was down $ 0.05 (-0.09%) to $ 56.55, down from $ 0.70 over the week.
According to the latest Energy Information Administration data, US oil production has stagnated at 11.0 million barrels per day, and US oil production is unlikely to increase significantly as long as supplies remain high – more than a few million barrels could correct.
The API reported a built-in gasoline supply of 1.129 million barrels for the week ending January 15 – compared to the previous week’s 1.876 million barrels. Analysts had expected a build of 2.771 million barrels for the week.
Inventory build-up for the week concludes with Spirits, which saw an increase of 816,000 barrels for the week on top of last week’s increase of 4.433 million barrels, while Cushing inventories saw the only decline this week, down 4.285 million barrels.
At 4:34 p.m. EDT, the WTI benchmark was trading at $ 53.28, while Brent oil was trading at $ 55.97.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
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